Patient Partner on all EMIS systems

Patient Partner is now accredited to work on all EMIS platforms; meaning that patients can book or cancel appointments around the clock.

The automated telephone appointment booking system allows patients to contact their surgery at any time of the night or day to book, cancel and change their appointments.

It was developed by Telecoms specialists Voice Connect almost ten years ago and is now used by more than 2.5m patients across the UK.

The new integration status means that Patient Partner works fully with all EMIS variations, including LV and EMIS Web.

A company statement said this was good news for surgeries and patients, as more than half of GPs in the UK use an EMIS clinical database.

Missed patient appointments are estimated to cost the NHS about £600m a year and the companies involved say Patient Partner can reduce this.

Voice Connect managing director Stefan Olsberg said: “Not only has [Patient Partner] cut DNA (did not attend) rates and saved practices money, it has also given patients greatly improved access to the services they provide.

“Now that we are able to integrate fully with so many additional practices, it should mean that we are able to improve the service that thousands of GPs can offer their patients.”